PFAS6
PFAS6 is not a chemical and not an EPA analyte. It is Massachusetts' name for the sum of six named per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS, PFNA, PFHpA and PFDA — added together and reported as a single number. A Massachusetts water report that prints "PFAS6" is printing that state sum, which is not the same as an unspecified "total PFAS" figure and cannot be compared with a result for any one compound.
What This Measurement Means
A PFAS6 figure is the combined concentration of the six PFAS that Massachusetts regulates together. MassDEP published that standard on 2 October 2020 as a Massachusetts Maximum Contaminant Level of 20 nanograms per litre (parts per trillion) for the sum of PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS, PFNA, PFHpA and PFDA, applicable to community and non-transient non-community systems, and abbreviates the set as "PFAS6". EPA sets no national drinking-water limit for this six-compound sum; its national rule sets limits on individual PFAS instead. So a PFAS6 number states how those six add up under the Massachusetts standard, and nothing about any federal limit.
Source: MassDEP — Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Drinking Water (retrieved 2026-09-16)
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Contaminant Type
PFAS6 is classified as a PFAS contaminant.
Related PFAS Contaminants
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